Woman jailed for helping lover hide wife’s body

A WOMAN who helped her lover hide his wife’s body after he killed her has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Rita Heyster, 57, helped Harry Jarvis hide Carol Jarvis’ body under the floor of the family home in Bathgate, West Lothian.

Carol, the mother of Jarvis’ four children, was killed “by means unknown” in September 2009.

Heyster and Jarvis tried to cover up the crime but fled to Perth when the body was discovered. They were arrested on their return to Edinburgh.

Heyster was convicted in July this year of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The detective in charge of the case welcomed the sentence.

SERIOUS NATURE

Detective Inspector Phil Gachagan said: ‘The length of sentence handed down to Rita Heyster today reflects the serious nature of the part she played in attempting to disrupt the police investigation into Carol Jarvis’s disappearance and murder.

‘In helping Harry Jarvis conceal his wife’s body under the floorboards, she showed a complete lack of compassion for Mrs Jarvis or the suffering her family would have to endure.

‘It is my sincere hope that Carol Jarvis’s loved ones take comfort from the sentence handed down today and can begin to move on with their lives.

‘Rita Heyster, who was complicit in Harry Jarvis’s manipulation and deceit must now live with the consequences of her actions as she begins her term behind bars.’